The 32GB model will be $249.99 with a two-year commitment and the 16GB model will be $199.99 with a two-year commitment.

Not sure if I'd call it trolltastic -- when AT&T first gave pre-order info, $250 was the only price it had. You get the impression that the carrier either saw the public reaction or got a nastygram from Samsung, which pictured AT&T almost single-handedly torpedoing Galaxy S 4 sales while everyone walked out with cheaper iPhone 5s and HTC Ones.

I'm still amazed that people will make a decision they have to live with for at least 2 years because of what comes down to a small number of single-digit dollars per month.

"I really want that phone but I will settle on this one that I don't really care for to save $2 a month"

Same reason I don't understand why people will ever buy the older model iPhone. I understand that it's $100 difference, but if $100 is going to dramatically improve your life then getting rid of a cell phone contract would make you wealthy beyond imagination.

Not much directly to add here but the Chrome iPhone 5 app was just updated (minutes ago) for full screen capability. I assume by the time I get the S4 it will likewise be updated on Android - or perhaps it already can do this?

I walked into my local Sprint store to see if they had inside info. No bueno. I was told that they expect pre-orders to start soon, but the phone will probably come out around the end of May or beginning of June.

Just placed a pre-order with AT&T for a Black 16 GB model, nothing larger at this point - but I was anxious. Says shipping on April 30. Since my move to Spotify, and now leaning on Dropbox to store my pictures/videos, my storage needs have been reduced significantly in the past 6 months.

Really looking forward to this piece of hardware, and may even consider a move to the Note 3 if I can deal with the size.

Not much directly to add here but the Chrome iPhone 5 app was just updated (minutes ago) for full screen capability. I assume by the time I get the S4 it will likewise be updated on Android - or perhaps it already can do this?

It's been added to Chrome Beta for Android. However on my phone it freezes a lot.

Not much directly to add here but the Chrome iPhone 5 app was just updated (minutes ago) for full screen capability. I assume by the time I get the S4 it will likewise be updated on Android - or perhaps it already can do this?

It's been added to Chrome Beta for Android. However on my phone it freezes a lot.

Not much directly to add here but the Chrome iPhone 5 app was just updated (minutes ago) for full screen capability. I assume by the time I get the S4 it will likewise be updated on Android - or perhaps it already can do this?

It's been added to Chrome Beta for Android. However on my phone it freezes a lot.

Its actually been really solid for me lately. Last month's betas were really buggy though.

I just got the email from Sprint that they are taking pre-orders now. Still no release date that I'm seeing. The 16MB version is $600 straight up, $250 if you sign a 2-year contract, or $150 if you sign a 2-year contract and switch to Sprint from another service.

Charges: We'll charge your card for your phone today. Shipping: We'll do our best to get it to you by Saturday, April 27.

Yeah, sorry, 250 for the 16gb version when the HTC One is 199 and the Note 2 is 299? I'll pass. I've been debating all week as to whether or not to go with the HTC One or the Note 2, and I think I'm going the Note 2 route simply for the longer battery life. I'm a road warrior, and it's one of the biggest things to me.

Sort of confirming what I read last week, AT&T just sent me an email saying...

Spoiler: show

Dear Valued AT&T Customer,

Thank you for ordering the Samsung Galaxy S®4 from AT&T. We are excited to announce that we are able to ship devices earlier than originally expected. Customers who pre-ordered their smartphone early can begin receiving it as soon as April 25th.

You should expect to receive an Order Confirmation email with your shipment tracking number as soon as your order has been shipped.

AT&T is committed to outstanding customer service and we hope you are as delighted with this good news as we are to be sharing it with you.

Sincerely,

AT&T

Not sure what the precise definition of "early" is according to AT&T, but I think it was around 3 AM when I placed the pre-order. So I'm hopeful.

I think the only think I am not loving is that the samsung touchwiz UI is butt ugly compared to the holo style interface I am used to from running a SlimRom release on my old phone. Hopefully a really great slimrom release will be forthcoming soon as long as it keeps some of the more useful stuff Samsung has done on this phone.

The camera is a huge step up from my old phone and again, the performance (even with power saving enabled) is amazing. Battery life seems like it will be great as well. A day of fiddling, a number of emails, texts, a couple of phone calls and some facebooking, plus some video and music playback and it is currently at 77%.

So for those of you that have yours finally are you happy with it? I've been happy with my S2 that I've had now for almost two years. Its been a great phone and despite a couple little hiccups (one hardware defect which samsung took care of right away, the other software which AT&T actually patched right away...well right away for their standards anyways) I had been keeping my eye out on current phones since my contract is up on the first week of June. I bought my g/f the S3 when that was released and I like all the improvements it had over my phone. I'm thinking the S4 will be the phone to carry me the next two years. I have a 32gb memory card I can take out of my phone and slide in there, and I will probably pick up a spare battery like I did for the S2 as well(later on when they are cheaper on amazon).

I know comparing the S3 to the S4 there aren't huge improvements, but I think there's enough little ones to justify paying more for it.

I was excited about the HTC one until I heard about the battery life, and non removable battery. Maybe I'll hold out a little longer until I hear more news about the waterproof S4 that's suppose to hit in July even if I don't snag that maybe the S4 will drop a little in price to make room for it.

Day 1 for me also. It's been a busy few days as the switch from iOS has taken considerable time. Main time sinks have been getting both of my Exchange accounts working well, which took some experimenting with various apps. Second, was finding a replacement for Docs to Go, which is QuickOffice for now - but still need to see if there is something better. Documents to Go on Android does not work with Dropbox. Bummer. Overall though, it's looking a noticeable upgrade from my iPhone 5.

There is something to be said about Apple's walled garden as the UI is much more consistent, and polished. Of course, the sheer customizability available with Android is a huge asset as well - you just need to spend some time doing it. God bless Android keyboards. Regarding the look and feel, spending a few hours with Apex gets me the results, below. I really like it.

I was all excited to pick up an S4 as soon as I become eligible for an upgrade from Verizon on May 8 when they announced the S4 Active.

I work in construction, so dust is just part of my environment. Where I'm working now is even worse - fly ash everywhere - this place eats stainless steel.

I just don't know how much more of my Bionic's shit I can take. It requires twice daily recharging, and the audio from the ear piece has gone all tinny. I'm hoping for a surprisingly early release here.

Got mine today. It's a really nice piece of hardware and I think I'll like it - but it's immediately clear that while this will be the handset everyone associates Android with for the next year, there are still quirks. The AMOLED display is great if you're looking at it from the front, but tilt it just a bit and you get the classic AMOLED tint.

I'll play with it for a few days and if I remember it, I'll return with a writeup about it if anyone is interested.

Got mine today. It's a really nice piece of hardware and I think I'll like it - but it's immediately clear that while this will be the handset everyone associates Android with for the next year, there are still quirks. The AMOLED display is great if you're looking at it from the front, but tilt it just a bit and you get the classic AMOLED tint.

I'll play with it for a few days and if I remember it, I'll return with a writeup about it if anyone is interested.

Interesting. I just got mine, and have my S II next to it, and notice very little at all in terms of colour change with a tilt.

AT&T's version has a locked bootloader, which the mensa-types at XDA say won't be cracked without a leak from Samsung. Worrying for me as the Canadian version is likely to be identical to the AT&T one, just with a different bloatware loadout.

AT&T's version has a locked bootloader, which the mensa-types at XDA say won't be cracked without a leak from Samsung. Worrying for me as the Canadian version is likely to be identical to the AT&T one, just with a different bloatware loadout.

I've been using the GS4 myself for a little while (only fitting that the thread originator give it a whirl!).

I'd still lean toward the HTC One for the build, camera and more subdued software, but I'm not as averse to the GS4 as some are. The plastic isn't that bad, the display is fine (though I can notice the PenTile look) and the camera is usable right up until it's genuinely dark -- with great detail when it's bright, of course.

The battery life surprises me a bit: I was thrashing the phone pretty hard (Instagram, Path, Foursquare, Twitter, browsing) and still had about 37 percent left in the tank after 6.5 hours. In normal use, I could probably get more out of it.

You can still see the Pentile look? I haven't been able to see it (and I know where to look for it, I don't even need to try to notice it on the GS3, one of the reasons I got the One X) and I've been carefully examining the edges of black on white text where the effect is most prominent. In theory, you need to be closer than 11 inches to even begin to notice the Red/Blue subpixels much less see Pentile. My eyes aren't good enough to see it even at 8 inches though.

Some of my thoughts:

I've been using my GS4 naked for the past couple days while waiting for my Spigen Neo Hybrid case to come in. Being VERY careful because I might cry if I dropped and broke it haha. This thing is amazingly light too (although for some reason, lightness is no longer considered a premium quality like it was 10 years ago).

I've been comparing it to a friend's GS3 and wow they really do look alike. On the other hand, the feel in hand is noticeably different if you grip it and apply some force. People have complained about creaking in the GS3 (and I've noticed it in my Note 1) but it's absent for the most part in the GS4. However, creaks sometimes develop over time so I'll see what it's like down the road in 3 months.

Screen is day and night compared to previous AMOLEDs I've owned (Nexus One, Note 1). I owned the One X instead of the GS3 and always ribbed my friend about his way less sharp GS3. I can't see the effect now even when looking for it (and I know how to look for it). I suppose having the Red and Blue subpixels individually on par with the iPhone 5's screen means you'd need to be closer than 6 inches to see the Pentile effect at all. I bought a large screen so I don't have to peer down my nose at it =)

Camera is only par for indoor shots. It's quite capable for static shots (if you have a steady hand) but will not capture motion as well as the One can. Outdoors though, the camera is brilliant.

Here's some stuff I snapped over the weekend. Every one was using Full Auto, no Burst (so I didn't just take a bunch at once and choose the best one). I've noticed Sport mode bumps up the ISO and doubles the shutter time. Pictures which would use ISO-50, 1/1300s shutter would be ISO-100, 1/2600s shutter instead. I'm happy with the outdoor results, there's a bit too much oversharpening done in the filters but the halos are only really visible at 100%. Click to open full size.

My bike wheel after I set it spinning.

Chose a dandelion to see the captured details.

The red turned out nicely.

Cropped from original. Not sports mode.

Cropped for the detailed part.

Cropped and not sports mode to capture the motion.

One other thing that I've found pleasant about the GS4 is that it can reliably lock GPS indoors (except in deep in concrete buildings or metal boxes). None of my previous phones even came close to doing that.